Free public lecture by poet and playwright Lemn Sissay MBE
Fri, 05 Jul 2013 10:50:00 BST
Famous inspirational poet and playwright Lemn Sissay MBE returns to the University to give a free public lecture, which will be combined with recitals of his poetry.
The lecture will take place on Wednesday, 10 July, at 6.00pm in the Diamond Jubilee Lecture Theatre. Although the lecture is free to attend, you will need to book a place in advance online: here
Lemn Sissay is one of the UK’s most celebrated poets and he has received many accolades and awards. In 2010, he was awarded the MBE for services to literature, he is the associate artist at the Southbank Centre and he was the first of five poets commissioned for last year’s London Olympics.
Lemn has written plays for stage and BBC radio and he writes regularly for The Guardian newspaper. He is also the author of five collections of poetry. One of his most famous and powerful works is his sculpture poem, Gilt of Cain. The sculpture poem commemorates the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and the campaign led by Yorkshireman William Wilberforce. It was unveiled by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu and can be found in Fen Court, London.
Lemn has become a regular visitor to the University and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2009. His previous Huddersfield lecture, in 2010, had the audience captivated by his powerful account of his experiences of growing up in the care system. Lemn has also given his name to the University’s Lemn Sissay PhD Scholarship, which is currently held by researcher Belinda Bluff.
Lemn’s talk on Wednesday is entitled GOOGLE ME – A talk on identity from someone finding theirs. He will speak candidly about his own journey from birth to the villages of Lancashire to Buckingham Palace where he was given an MBE from Her Majesty The Queen.
Further information about the lecture can be obtained from Dr Berenice Golding at b.golding@hud.ac.uk
